The Holy Bible: Revised Common Version

The Word of the Lord to Ezekiel

Chapter 46

Ordinance for the prince in his worship, 1-8; and for the people, 9-15. An order for the prince's inheritance, 16-18. The courts for boiling and baking, 19-24.

1 "'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days, but on the sabbath it shall be opened and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate outside and shall stand by the post of the gate. And the priest shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go forth, but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3 Likewise, the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. 4 And the burnt-offering that the prince shall offer to the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. 5 And the food-offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the food-offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 6 And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, six lambs, and a ram. They shall be without blemish. 7 And he shall prepare a food-offering, an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall be able, along with a hin of oil to an ephah. 8 And when the prince enters, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate and he shall go forth by the way of it. 9 But when the people of the land come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he who enters in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate, and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate. He shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go forth over against it. 10 And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, he shall go in, and when they go forth, he shall go forth.

11 "And in the feasts and in the solemnities the food-offering shall be an ephah to a bull and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, along with a hin of oil to an ephah. 12 Now when the prince prepares a voluntary burnt-offering or peace-offerings voluntarily to the LORD, one shall then open to him the gate that looks toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he did on the sabbath-day. Then he shall go forth, and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

13 "You shall daily prepare a burnt-offering to the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish. You shall prepare it every morning. 14 And you shall prepare a food-offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah and the third part of a hin of oil to temper with the fine flour, a food-offering continually by a perpetual ordinance to the LORD. 15 Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the food-offering, and the oil every morning for a continual burnt-offering."

16 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, its inheritance shall be to his sons. It shall be their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he gives a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty. Afterward, it shall return to the prince. But his inheritance shall be to his sons for them. 18 Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression to thrust them out of their possession, but he shall give his sons' inheritance out of his own possession, so that my people are not scattered each from his possession."'"

19 Afterward, he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north, and behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. 20 Then he said to me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass-offering and the sin-offering, where they shall bake the food-offering, so that they may not bring them out into the outer court to sanctify the people."

21 Then he brought me forth into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court, and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad. These four corners were of one measure. 23 And there was a row of building around in them, around the four of them, and it was made with boiling places under the rows around. 24 Then he said to me, "These are the places of those who boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people."

Commentary

Notes

[v.20] - From John Gill's Exposition: "The design seems to be to show, that the doctrine of peace, pardon, atonement, and satisfaction for sin, is only to be preached as belonging to such that truly repent of sin, and believe in Christ; and particularly that the ordinance of the Lord's supper, in which the sacrifice of Christ is held forth and commemorated, is to be administered, not to men in common, but to holy and regenerate persons; to do otherwise would be to cast pearls before swine, and give that which is holy to dogs."